Palestinian youth shot, injured in head with live fire during Israeli raid on Ramallah-area village

July 24, 2016 10:43 A.M. (Updated: July 24, 2016 6:22 P.M.)

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian youth was seriously injured Sunday at dawn during clashes with Israeli forces who raided the village of Silwad in the Ramallah district of the occupied West Bank.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the youth was injured in the head by live fire and was taken to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah in serious condition.

Israeli forces reportedly fired live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas as it raided the village in the predawn hours on Sunday, while youths responded with throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Israeli forces also summoned three Palestinians for investigations after raiding their homes. The three were identified as Tariq Talib Hamid, Yahiya Ahmad Hamid, and Muhammad Basim Hamid.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into reports of the clashes and injured youth.

Israeli forces have come under repeated criticism for excessive use of force, as well as lethal methods of crowd control that often result in death or injury of protesters.

In the wake of the killing of a 12-year old Palestinian boy last week by Israeli soldiers during a raid in al-Ram, Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesman Osama Najah told Ma'an that at least 63 Palestinians under the age of 18 had been killed by Israelis since October, when a wave of unrest began across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.

At the time, the army said that forces shot at a “speeding vehicle heading towards them,” killing al-Salaymeh, although the other passengers in the car vehemently denied that they had been aware of presence of Israeli forces in the area and that they were heading to a bakery at the time of the shooting.